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18 Jan 2010 : Column 162W—continued


Schools: Gloucestershire

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families for what reasons Graham Badman was asked to undertake a review of National Challenge schools in Gloucestershire; and what the reasons were for the timetable set out for the review. [310343]

Mr. Coaker: Graham Badman was asked to undertake a review of National Challenge schools in Gloucestershire to help the authority increase the pace of improvement in the National Challenge and to explore options for developing sustainable solutions for schools most at risk of not reaching the National Challenge benchmark. The review was conducted with urgency in order to ensure that all schools will be sustainable above the National Challenge benchmark by 2011.

Mr. Drew: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what discussions Graham Badman has had with Gloucestershire County Council on National Challenge schools in the county. [310344]

Mr. Coaker: Graham Badman had discussions with officers of the local authority, the Cabinet Member for Schools and Deputy Leader, Jackie Hall and National Challenge Advisers when conducting his review of the National Challenge. These discussions covered all the schools supported by the National Challenge programme in Gloucestershire.

Schools: Inspections

Miss McIntosh: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what recent representations he has received on the new framework for inspections issued and implemented by Ofsted; and if he will make a statement. [304017]

Mr. Coaker: Matters concerning the school inspection framework and its implementation are for HM Chief Inspector, Christine Gilbert. The Department is aware of recent press coverage and has also been contacted about the new school inspection arrangements.

Schools: Preston

Mr. Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much funding his Department and its predecessors have provided in respect of (a) computers and (b) information and communications technologies in schools in Preston since 1997. [311065]

Ms Diana R. Johnson: The Department does not collect the information requested by constituency area.


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Mr. Hendrick: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how much has been spent repairing schools in Preston in each year since 1997. [311239]

Mr. Coaker: Repairs which bring schools back to their original state constitute a revenue expense, and are paid out of revenue funding. Repairs which amount to capital improvement, such as better insulation, are payable from capital allocations. The Department does not maintain records of revenue funding spent on repairs, as distinct from other revenue costs such as salaries, as this is decided locally.

School capital allocations are not made directly to Preston, but to Lancashire county council, and the Department maintains no central records of the amounts prioritised by Lancashire to Preston. Allocations by the Department to Lancashire during the period 1997-98 to 2009-10 amount to £1,010 million.

Secondary Education: Coventry

Mr. Jim Cunningham: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what representations his Department has received from Coventry city council on the recommendations made in the report of the Badman review of secondary education. [311282]

Ms Diana R. Johnson: Coventry city council responded to the recent public consultation 'Home Education: registration and monitoring proposals' ending 19 October 2009 which was launched following the publication of the Badman review into home education in June 2009. I will write separately providing a copy of the full response.

Secondary Education: Teachers

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how many secondary schools have at least (a) three, (b) five and (c) 10 deputy headteachers; and if he will make a statement. [308180]

Mr. Coaker: The Department does not collect this information centrally.

Sixth Form Education: Finance

Mr. Laws: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families whether capital funding provided for school sixth form provision under the Building Schools for the Future programme is predicated on an expected level of retention of pupils transferring from year 11 to year 12; and if he will make a statement. [310500]

Mr. Coaker: When local authorities enter the Building Schools for the Future (BSF) programme they formulate 10-year pupil projections for 11 to 19-year-olds in secondary schools. These projections will make assumptions about the retention rates as pupils move into sixth form and should be informed by discussions with the local strategic partnership, further education colleges and the local Learning and Skills Council. The projections are submitted to Partnerships for Schools (PfS) for scrutiny and will be challenged where necessary. Once the figures have been approved by PfS they are used to generate the funding allocation to the local authority for the BSF programme.


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Vauxhall

Kate Hoey: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families if he will set out, with statistical evidence relating as closely as possible to Vauxhall constituency, the effects on the constituency of changes to his Department's policies since 1997. [310336]

Mr. Coaker: Since 1997 the Government have transformed education and child care with improved outcomes for children and young people. Figures showing the improvement in performance at Key Stage 2 and at GCSE and equivalents in Vauxhall are given in the following tables:

Key Stage 2 results of 11-year-old pupils attending schools in the Vauxhall constituency
Percentage of pupils gaining level 4 and above

1997 2009( 3) Percentage point improvement 1997-2008

Vauxhall-English(1)

45

79

34

Vauxhall-maths(1)

46

79

33

Vauxhall-science(1)

52

87

35

England-English(2)

63

80

17

England-maths(2)

62

79

17

England-science(2)

68

88

20

(1) Pupils attending schools in Vauxhall constituency.
(2) The average for all schools in England.
(3) Revised data.

GCSE and equivalents( 1) results for pupils( 2) attending schools in the Vauxhall constituency
Percentage of pupils gaining level 4 and above

1997 2008 2009( 3) Percentage point improvement 1997-2008

Vauxhall-5 plus A*-C

23.0

56.8

n/a

33.8

Vauxhall-5 plus A*-G

79.1

90.6

n/a

11.5

National average-5 plus A*-C

45.1

65.3

69.7

20.2

National Average-5 plus A*-G

86.4

91.6

92.5

5.2

(1) From 2004 results incorporate GCSEs, GNVQs and a range of other qualifications approved pre-16. Prior to 2004 results are based on GCSEs and GNVQs only.
(2) From 2006 figures are for pupils at the end of Key Stage 4. Prior to 2006 results are based on pupils aged 15.
(3) Provisional data.

Further information by constituency is provided within the Department's 'In Your Area' website available at

Information available at constituency level includes the number of specialist schools, number of operational academies, number of teaching assistants and other support staff, number of teachers and pupil:teacher ratios. Where information is not available at constituency level it has been provided at local authority level.

Additional information could be provided at only disproportionate cost.


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Young Offenders: Crime Prevention

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families how the funding provided by his Department under the Youth Crime Action Plan has been spent. [311230]

Mr. Coaker: Implementation of the Youth Crime Action Plan is underpinned by a £100 million funding package, which is being used to:

Young People: Antisocial Behaviour

James Brokenshire: To ask the Secretary of State for Children, Schools and Families what steps his Department is taking to reduce levels of youth crime and anti social behaviour; and if he will make a statement. [311229]

Mr. Coaker: The Youth Taskforce Action Plan and the cross-departmental Youth Crime Action Plan set out the Government's approach to preventing and tackling youth crime and antisocial behaviour. The Youth Taskforce is driving delivery of both action plans, working with more than 80 local authorities and their partners across the country to ensure that every area can deliver an appropriate response to the needs of vulnerable young people.

The most recent Youth Taskforce progress report is available at:

Business, Innovation and Skills

Adult Education: Finance

Mr. Laws: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills under what headings the Adult Safeguarded Learning budget for 2010-11 will be spent; and if he will make a statement. [309504]

Kevin Brennan: Our funding priorities for 2010/11 are set out in the strategy document, "Skills Investment Strategy 2010-11", published in November 2009. In the 2010-11 financial year we will invest £210 million in Adult Safeguarded Learning supporting:

In the strategy document we have re-affirmed our commitment to implementing the vision for informal adult learning, including learning for personal, family and community development, described in "The Learning Revolution" White Paper (2009). We recognise that this
18 Jan 2010 : Column 166W
type of learning contributes to the health and well-being of communities by building the confidence and resilience of the individuals involved. For the low-skilled and under-confident, informal learning can also be an important stepping stone to further learning and a more skilled future. We are working across Government and with our partners in every sector to make "The Learning Revolution" a reality. During 2010-11 we will work with the Skills Funding Agency to determine how funding for Adult Safeguarded Learning can be routed most effectively to secure local ownership and underpin strong local partnerships.

Aimhigher Programme: Finance

Michael Gove: To ask the Minister of State, Department for Business, Innovation and Skills how much money has been allocated to Aimhigher (a) directly from his Department, (b) via the Higher Education Funding Council for England and (c) via the Learning and Skills Council for (i) 2009-10 and (ii) 2010-11. [309857]

Mr. Lammy: The information is given in the following table.

2009-10 2010-11

BIS(1)

56,900

56,900

HEFCE

32,300

(2)29,000

LSC(3)

0

0

Department for Health

600

(4)600

Total

89,800

(5)86,500

(1 )The amounts given for the Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS) include £9 million each year for the Aimhigher Associates scheme.
(2 )HEFCE committed to fund the Aimhigher programme at £29 million per year for the three years 2008 to 2011. In light of the recent funding situation the Council is currently reviewing all its funding lines and final confirmation of all allocations for 2010-11 will be made, as is usual, shortly after their January board meeting. The council's additional £3.3 million allocation to support Aimhigher summer schools was committed until July 2010. Continued commitment after this date is also subject to the review.
(3 )The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills provides £9.338 million to the LSC each year in the form of a ring-fenced grant for Aimhigher. This amount is included in the BIS figures in the table.
(4 )The Department for Health has not yet confirmed its contribution for 2010-11.
(5 )Subject to confirmation.
Note:
All figures are in £000.

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